Nov. 9, 2005
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
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AZTECS HOST UNLV, TRAVEL TO TCU THIS WEEK
* San Diego State will host UNLV in a rare Wednesday evening match in Peterson Gym on Nov. 9 at 7:00 p.m.
* The Aztecs will then hit the road, traveling to Fort Worth, Texas, for a Mountain West Conference contest at TCU on Friday, Nov. 11, at 7:00 p.m. (CST).
SERIES RECORD
* San Diego State is 14-6 in the series against UNLV including a 3-0 loss in Las Vegas earlier this season. The teams first met in 1985 when both were members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA). They did not meet again until 11 years later (1996) when both were in the Western Athletic Conference. Since both schools became members of the Mountain West Conference in 1999, SDSU has won 10 of 15 meetings. That record includes 13 regular-season matches and two contests at the annual MWC Tournament.
* The Aztecs have won all three of their previous matches against TCU. The first two contests came during the 1997 season when SDSU and the Horned Frogs were members of the Western Athletic Conference. That year, San Diego State won 3-0 in Peterson Gym and 3-1 in Fort Worth. Earlier this season, SDSU defeated TCU, 3-0, in San Diego.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
* UNLV enters the week with an overall record of 12-12 and an 8-4 mark in conference play, good for third place. The Rebels defeated Colorado State in Fort Collins last weekend before losing at Wyoming. UNLV is led by Lauren Miramontes (3.52 kpg, 0.87 bpg) and Maria Aladjova (3.38 kpg, 1.53 dpg). The Rebels lead the league in digs, averaging 15.18 per game. Libero Jada Walker ranks third in the MWC at 4.13 dpg.
* TCU (15-13 overall; 3-9 MWC) has dropped four straight matches, but its last win was a five-game victory over Colorado State at home. The Horned Frogs top offensive players include Anna Vaughn (3.82 kpg, 1.06 bpg, 1.19 dpg) and LeMeita Smith (2.33 kpg, 0.55 bpg). Talaya Whitfield is second in the conference in digs with an average of 4.30 per game while Vaughn's hitting percentage of .303 is fifth-best in the MWC this week.
HEAD COACH Mark Warner
* San Diego State head coach Mark Warner is in his 11th season at the helm of the Aztec women's program. His career record over that span stands at 176-158 (.527).
* Over the past 10 years, Warner has led his teams to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths and a Western Athletic Conference championship. His tutelage has produced 15 all-conference players and he was named the Mountain West Conference co-coach of the year in 2002.
MOST RECENTLY
* San Diego State dropped a pair of Mountain West Conference matches last weekend to even its league record at 6-6.
* At Wyoming last Friday (Nov. 4), the Aztecs fell in three games (30-21, 30-27, 30-25). Melanie Greene was the lone Aztec to reach double figures in kills with 13 while libero Aime Cordeiro recorded 13 digs. As a team, SDSU was out-hit .348 to .142 for the match.
* In the loss at Colorado State on Saturday (Nov. 5), SDSU won the first game before dropping the next three in a 3-1 (30-32, 30-26, 30-25, 30-20) defeat at the hands of the Rams. Greene again led the Aztecs with 18 kills while Audra Dent contributed 14 kills and four blocks. Lindsey Noll had seven blocks in the losing cause.
GREENE DOUBLES UP
* Junior OH Melanie Greene recorded her 11th and 12th double-doubles of the season during last weekend's road trip to Wyoming and Colorado State.
* She had 13 kills/11 digs vs. Wyoming followed by 18 kills/14 digs at Colorado State.
* She has notched four double-doubles in SDSU's most recent five matches.
* Greene's 12 double-doubles this fall is the highest total by a Mountain West Conference player in 2005.
* She is accounting for an average of 3.85 points per game to lead the squad.
* Her overall dig average of 2.89 ranks eighth in the league while her MWC match average of 3.00 dpg is seventh.
* Greene's also ranks among the league top 10 in services aces. She is sixth overall (0.41 sapg) and seventh in league games only (0.43 sapg).
DENT CONTINUES SOLID PLAY
* Over SDSU's last seven matches, right side hitter Audra Dent is averaging 3.39 kills per game and 1.06 blocks per game.
* In conference matches, she is second on the squad in kills with an average of 3.05 per contest. She has been in double figures in kills in six of SDSU's last nine outings.
* Her eight blocks vs. USD on Oct. 11 was a personal season best and her seven block assists tied her career high in a match.
* In the contest at UNLV on Oct. 7, she led the Aztecs with a career-high 22 kills. That total surpassed her previous personal best of 14 set last season vs. James Madison.
NOLL ON THE BLOCK
* In last weekend's two matches, Lindsey Noll totaled 10 blocks to maintain her season average of 1.36 blocks per game.
* Her blocking average of 1.56 bpg in league games ranks second in the MWC stats while her overall average of 1.36 is fourth-best in the league this week.
* Noll set a career high in blocks with 12 against USD on Oct. 11, then tied that mark against TCU on Oct. 16.
* The senior middle blocker, a 6-5 transfer from Missouri, is hitting .323 in all matches and .345 in league contests to lead San Diego State. Those attack percentages rank third and second respectively in the MWest C this week.
* In Mountain West Conference matches, she leads the Aztecs with an average of 3.98 points per game.
* Noll's 20 kills in the match against Air Force on Sept. 30 tied her career high which she set vs. Texas A&M in 2003 while playing at Missouri.
CORDEIRO KEEPS DIGGIN'
* Sophomore libero Aime Cordeiro continues to lead the MWC in digs (overall) with an average of 4.82 per game. In MWC play, her average of 4.82 dpg also ranks first.
* Aime Cordeiro's 35 digs in the match at UNLV established a new Mountain West Conference record (which has since been tied). The old mark was 34 by Wyoming's Carissa Lee (in five games) set this season on Sept. 3 vs. Northern Colorado. That dig total is also an MWC record for a league match, besting the previous record of 33 by Lindsey Evans (BYU) at UNLV in 2004.
* Cordeiro's effort was the second-most digs in a match ever by an Aztec, tying the total turned in by Angela Rock vs. Texas during the 1984 season. It was the most digs in a match by an Aztec since 1997 and only the eighth time that an SDSU player surpassed the 30-dig mark.
* She had 31 digs in the match at Utah on Oct. 24.
* She is only the second Aztecs to have a pair of 30-dig matches during her career. The other is Jackie Mendez who recorded 30 or more digs on four occasions. Only three other Aztecs had at least 30 digs in a match during their careers.
* She has reached the 20-dig plateau in seven matches this season and has failed to reach double figures in that category in only four of the team's 25 matches.
DUAL SETTERS
* San Diego State is using a two-setter rotation this season, alternating sophomore Kristen Castillo and freshman Leah Lathrop.
* Each setter has appeared in all 87 games, and the two have averaged a total of 12.08 assists, 0.45 service aces and 2.71 dpg.
LATHROP SOLID AT SETTER
* Freshman setter Leah Lathrop's three service aces vs. Wyoming last Friday tied her season high and was the second consecutive match in which she reached that figure.
* Lathrop recorded the first double-double of her collegiate career with 24 assists and 10 digs in the win at Air Force on Sept. 30.
DEFENDING AND ATTACKING
* Kristen Castillo has recorded thee double-doubles (assists/digs) this season.
* She has had 10 digs in three matches, tying her career best which she first set last season vs. Wyoming.
* Castillo is hitting .462 from her setter position with only four attack errors over 87 games. Last season she finished with a .263 attack percentage.
WALLER LOST FOR SEASON
* Freshman outside hitter Alicia Waller recently had surgery to remove cartilage from her knee, ending her 2005 season prematurely.
* She still ranks first in the conference in league-game stats at 0.73 sapg. In all contests, she is also first at 0.52 sapg.
* She recorded seven service aces in the win over Wyoming on Sept. 24, the most in a match by an Aztec since Robyn Gregg had nine against Air Force on October 18, 2002.
* Those seven aces in the Wyoming match ties for the most in any match by an MWC player this season and are the most in a league contest in 2005. Waller also had six aces in a match earlier this year (vs. Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 7).
MUCH IMPROVED
* Statistical comparisons to last season indicate that the Aztecs are a much improved team in 2005.
* Here are stat averages from the 2004 season and after the first 25 matches of the current campaign:
2005 2004KPG.......15.13....12.84Pct.........217......152Asst/G....13.41....11.55Aces/G.....1.61.....1.12Digs......14.41....11.83Blocks.....2.73.....2.47PLAYER OF THE WEEK
* San Diego State middle blocker Lindsey Noll was named the Mountain West Conference Volleyball Player of the Week on Oct. 17 for her efforts in the previous week's two matches. She is the first Aztec to win the honor since Aspen McPartland did it in back-to-back weeks in Sept. 2003.
* Against the 15th-ranked University of San Diego (Oct. 11), Noll notched a career-high 12 total blocks to go along with seven kills, three digs and a service ace. Her four solo blocks vs. USD were a career-high as well and she is currently tied for the second most solo blocks by an MWC player this season.
* She followed that with her first career double-double vs. TCU (Oct. 16), tallying 11 kills and tying her career high with 12 blocks (1 solo and a career-best 11 assists). She also had three digs, an assist and a service ace, while hitting .391 vs. TCU.
* Over those two matches, Noll averaged two kills per game on .341 hitting, 2.67 blocks, 0.67 digs, 0.22 service aces and 0.11 assists per game. She is currently second in the MWC in hitting percentage (.335) and third in blocks per game (1.38).
AZTEC NOTES
* With four matches left in the regular season and at least one more in the conference tournament, SDSU needs one win to insure at least a .500 finish this season. Two more wins would mean that the Aztecs will have won four times as many games as they did a year ago.
* The Aztecs have two players among the top 10 in hitting percentage in conference-match statistics: Lindsey Noll (2nd-.346) and Lindsey Mahan (8th-.293).
* Mahan hit .471 (9k-1e-17att) in the loss at Colorado State, her second-highest attack percentage of the season.
* Four Aztecs have started all 25 matches for SDSU this season: Kristen Castillo, Lindsey Noll, Audra Dent and Lindsey Mahan. Leah Lathrop and Melanie Greene are the only others to have appeared in every match this fall.
* Audra Dent is the lone Aztec to have recorded at least one block in every match this season.